Batman: Life of Shadows

Batman: Life of Shadows

• Bruce Wayne along with the Wayne Industries board attend Haly’s circus. Secretly, Bruce Wayne serves as a cover for the Batman to investigate any potential strings related to the Joker. The Flying Graysons perform an impressive trapeze routine. Unbeknownst to the performers, a mobster there to collect mob money from Haly sabotages the performance. The Grayson parents fall to their deaths into the fire below in what looks like a freak accident. The young distraught Dick Grayson sees a figure fleeing the scene. Bruce Wayne also sees the figure, but he can’t confront the mobster due to the panicked crowd and his advisors urging him to evacuate. Instead, Bruce Wayne calls 911. 

• Flash forward to see Yin and Gordan with Dick Grayson at the GCPD. They are trying to figure out what to do with him because he has no other family to watch him. Rick is telling detectives that he saw a man do something to the rope but they think he is just coping. They believe him once Bruce shows up and says he saw someone too. Bruce Wayne is compelled to adopt Dick. Gordan agrees that this would be good for Dick. Bruce tells Dick that he has gone through a similar tragedy with his parents. Dick and Bruce connect and Bruce brings him to Wayne Manor. He meets Alfred who offers to take care of him. Bruce urges Dick to stay on the main level, to make sure he doesn’t enter any rooms that he shouldn’t see (aka the Batcave). 

• Bruce Wayn enters the Batcave after getting Dick settled in. He promises to himself that he will find the person who did this to Dick. He doesn’t want Dick to turn out vengeful like he did. Therefore, Batman goes back to the circus to investigate the crime. Suddenly, Bronze Tiger, who was stalking in the shadows, ambushes him. He tells Batman that he has a job to finish in order to be accepted fully into the league of assassins. They battle on a tightrope of the circus. He tries to kill Batman, but Batman is too quick and smart. He traps him in a nearby lion’s cage. Batman begins to make his escape, but is prevented by the new poster child league of assassins member, Deathstroke. 

• Then, Ra’s Al Ghul, Talia, and Ubu emerge. Ra’s Al Ghul claims that Batman must finish his honorary commitment and fight Bronze Tiger to the death. Someone must die tonight. Batman refuses to commit such an act. Ra’s Al Ghul reveals that if he is killed, he will not actually die due to the help of the mystical properties of the Lazeraus pit. After all, that is what brought Talia and Ra’s back from the dead after their training years before. To prove his point, Ra’s commands Talia to kill Ubu to prove it’s true. Batman still refuses. Ra’s tells Batman that the battle must take place in 3 days or else he will have the boy he adopted killed. He knows that Batman wouldn’t want that on his conscience. 

• When Bruce makes it back to the Batcave, we see that Dick happened upon the Batcave and asks why Batman has been living in Bruce’s basement. Dick asks Bruce if he is trying to take down his parents' murderer. Dick Grayson wants to help him do it. Batman denies him. He says that it’s too dangerous. Actions have consequences. After all, Batman informs Dick that he is dealing with the people who trained him so he could take out his own parents’ murderer. They continue to argue, but ultimately, Dick “agrees” to stay with Alfred while Batman goes to deal with the league of shadows. 

• Batman arrives just on-time for the fight between himself and Bronze Tiger. Deathstroke, Ra's, and Talia are just about to go find Dick when he arrives. With that, the battle begins. Batman has the upper hand, and he keeps urging Bronze Tiger to submit. Bronze Tiger refuses to give up. By the end of their battle, Bronze Tiger is battered, wounded, and can barely move, but still Batman refuses to finish the job. Ra's commands Deathstroke to finish Bruce’s job for him and kill Bronze Tiger. Batman stops him and a battle between him and Deathstroke ensues. Bronze Tiger, recognizes Batman’s honor and finds the strength to help Batman fight Deathstroke. Ra's doesn’t like those odds, so he commands Ubu and Talia to join the fight. In the fiasco, Deathstroke breaks Bronze Tigers legs which leaves him almost completely subdued. Now with the upperhand, Ra's tells Batman he will murder Bronze Tiger if he doesn’t surrender. 

• The league captures and ties up Bronze Tiger and Batman. R’as says that they have both failed their final test. Now Dick Grayson will pay for it. Ubu, Talia, and R’as go to fetch the boy while Deathstroke stays to watch the two captives. Deathstroke taunts the captives. He has heard much about Bruce Wayne. He sees the Bronze Tiger as a nothing. During his monologue, he hears a noise in the distance. He goes to investigate the sound. While Deathstroke is distracted, Dick Grayson emerges. He had thrown a rock to give him time to free Batman. Batman is both grateful and furious with the boy to put himself in danger and urges him to get out while he still can. Dick Grayson almost manages to free Batman but Deathstroke grabs Dick by the neck and begins to choke him. Dick is powerless to escape. As he feels the life begin to leave him he looks up to the trapeze above him. He hears his parents say that Graysons fly! This snaps Dick back into reality. He manages to summon enough strength to take the lock pick he was using to free Batman and stab Slade in his one good eye. This causes Deathstroke to drop Dick in agony. Dick rushes over to finish freeing Batman. 

• At that moment, R’as and his team return, obviously having failed in their mission to fetch Dick. Batman incapacitates Slade and helps break Bronze Tiger loose of his binds. Ubu and Talia go to fight Batman and Bronze Tiger. Bronze Tiger, still inspired by Batman’s honor, exclaims that someone must die tonight! He rushes towards R’as and stabs and kills him. Ubu and Talia quickly stop fighting and retreat to help R’as so they can bring him to the Lazarus pit. Talia taunts Batman as she flees with “Bye Daddy.”

• After the scuffle, Batman looks around and Deathstroke is gone. Dick Grayson comes out of his hiding spot now that the coast is clear of assassins. Bronze Tiger says he decided to go for R’as because he knew he would come back with the help of the pit. Batman acknowledges that Ra’s will be back, meaning Tiger did not kill anyone. Bronze Tiger is allowed to go. Batman then tells Dick that what he did was extremely stupid, but that he was also proud of him. Then, they go home to Wayne Manor.

• The end credit scene shows Batman and Dick Grayson in his Robin costume that Alfred has made for him. As Robin, Dick Grayson will continue to fly! Batman and Robin then bound off a building to investigate their main suspect for the Grayson’s murder, Tony Zucco.